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Waldorf books

post #1 of 8
11/6/09 at 7:37pm
Thread Starter 
I wasn't sure where to post this but I'll try here. I would like to home-preschool my daughter who is 3. I have been looking into some waldorf craft/song etc. books and can really only afford to buy two or three. What do you reccommend? Also are there any craft ideas/songs/poems...online for free?
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post #2 of 8
11/6/09 at 7:45pm
Honestly I would use the library. That way you will know for sure what books you want to buy! Also check here on the Trading Post!
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post #3 of 8
11/6/09 at 9:10pm
You can check out back issues of Gateways, the journal for Early Waldorf Ed at www.waldorflibrary.org. www.mainlesson.com has many free stories. You can join the international Waldorf yahoo groups. For Waldorf music you can try www.homemusicmaking.blogspot.com.
Most libraries have a copy of "You Are Your Child's First Teacher", a good place to start and most of Rudolf Steiner's educational works are also on-line. "Kingdom of Childhood" is accessible.

Hope that helps.
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post #4 of 8
11/6/09 at 9:21pm
Lots of good resources out there for cheap, but they tend to be a bit scattered.

Seasons of Joy ($15 per season for an e-book): Love this, btw http://www.naturalfamily.50megs.com/ . This has stories, songs, poems, craft ideas, etc.

Little Acorn Learning has two free samples online, otherwise you can pay $20 per month for an ebook. I just combine the two free samples with Seasons of Joy, personally: http://www.littleacornlearning.com/sampleweek.html

A Little Garden Flower has some very affordable guides, but I don't have these yet: http://www.alittlegardenflower.com/store/

Also, Christopherus: http://www.christopherushomeschool.o...rs/kindie.html

I'm going to get the LGF and Christopherus books for Christmas, but really Seasons of Joy has worked great for my 3 year old. I add to it by following a few Waldorf mama blogs (I highly recommend The Parenting Passageway by Carrie here on MDC for lots of good Waldorf info and ideas), and I also order lots of seasonal books from our library. The Waldorf forum on MDC has been rather helpful although it's a bit slow at the moment.

If you're looking for toy making ideas, this book is WONDERFUL: http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Play-...7553019&sr=8-1

www.mainlesson.com has free stories online

Also, you can google "Waldorf art" or "Waldorf nature tables" etc. and do an image search and get lots of ideas.

As far as books go, I always recommend Heaven on Earth but it's more theoretical than practical. There are some books like A Child's Seasonal Treasury that normally sell for oodles that I found at our local Half Priced Bookstore for $6. Also there are lots of Waldorf books floating about the Trading Post here on MDC. I have All Around the Year, or something like that that has festival info and craft ideas, but I don't really like it.

Hopefully, that will be a start!
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post #5 of 8
11/7/09 at 12:29am
Thread Starter 
I checked my library for several titles and they don't have anything. Our main library flooded last year and we lost a lot of books. Hopefully I can find some on ebay
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post #6 of 8
11/7/09 at 11:26am
I personally don't think Waldorf BOOKS are that great. Every time I buy one I rather regret it because they aren't quite what I'm looking for. You can check out a book list on this blog (far left) that has some good titles: http://frontierdreams.blogspot.com/ . In general, though, I've had far better luck with Seasons of Joy and watching blogs, as most people seem to put verses and such on their blogs. Come Follow Me are some CDs on amazon that have some nice season songs. These books are reasonably priced so that you could buy one and see if you like it before purchasing the set: http://www.novanatural.com/creativit...-songs-stories. Probably for $30 you could be totally set for winter with the winter Seasons of Joy and the Winter Songs/Poem book . I think that's what I'm going to do, and then get the Christopherus and LGF kindy books for Christmas (sorry . . . I am kind of thinking out loud here . . .)
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post #7 of 8
11/8/09 at 7:52pm
Here is a link to the online version of A Child's Seasonal treasury: http://books.google.com/books?id=2iZ...age&q=&f=false

Earthways is great craft book that also contains book recommedations for seasonal books (love this!)

Check out the waldorf home educators yahoo group. It is geared towards those that homeschool although you will find some great info in the files section for the early years.

You can also join the waldorf curriculum yahoo group. I have seen everything from toys, supplies, books and CD's sold at great prices although you have to be quick!

I know there have been some threads in the Waldorf forum that contain verses for mealtimes, bedtimes, etc.

Hope this helps!
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post #8 of 8
11/9/09 at 8:21pm
If you can only buy one thing, I would recommend You Are Your Child's First Teacher. For song and craft books:

Earthways
(THE classic nature craft book - these are doable with little ones, really!)

Sing a Song of Seasons
from Naturally You Can Sing

Those would set you really well for preschool. You can use Mother Goose and Storybooks from the library - classic stories.

Warm regards,

Lucie
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